Monday, November 30, 2015

The designer of this aircraft, Armand Thieblot, was born in Paris, France. He established himself in Europe before emigrating to the U.S. in 1928, where he worked for Columbia Air Liners and Fokker Aircraft before joining Fairchild in 1933. He died in 1978 at the age of 74.

In the early 1800's, Samuel Allcock founded S. Alcock & Company in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. He and another Redditch manufacturer, Charles Laight, visited Canada and decided to form a partnership to sell Allcock's British-made tackle along with Laight's needles & small wares in Canada and to make and sell fishing rods in Canada. In 1854, Mr. Milward was sent to Canada to set up the business of providing sporting equipment and clothing, as well as essential supplies for hunters and trappers. Beginning with a location on King Street in Toronto, the business moved several times, finally ending up at Sportsmen Headquarters on 230 Bay Street next to the Toronto Stock Exchange. Milward was replaced by Benjamin Westwood in 1868, and in 1885 he bought Laight's partnership and firm became Allcock, Laight & Westwood in 1898. In 1919, the firm was bought by two of its directors. By 1925. they were making their own lures and in 1927 they also began manufacturing lures for the Creek Chubb Bait Company of Garrett, Indiana, at that time one of the largest tackle producers in the world. By the early 1950's, the company had moved its head office and factory yet again to Leaside, Ontario. The company appears to have been rolled up sometime in the 1960's.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

My sister has started to repair horse harnesses as a sideline. Much of the sewing is done by hand using an awl and this bench-mounted harness sewing vise or clamp allows positioning and holding the work perfectly. The harness is held at working height in the clamp and the tightening and releasing mechanism is foot operated. All in all it's a very nicely made and handy device still as useful as when it was made. No manufacturer's name on it that we could find.

We found these instructions among my late father-in-law's papers. Lucky for us, he never threw anything out.I've scanned and uploaded the entire manual here: Sunbeam Clipmaster Hair Clipper.According to Wikipedia:

In 1897 John K. Stewart and Thomas Clark incorporated their Chicago Flexible Shaft Company, which made horse trimming and sheep shearing machinery. In 1921 the company produced its first Sunbeam branded household appliance, the Princess Electric Iron (with an option to buy a fireproof metal storage box). The name "Sunbeam" came from a company wide contest to rebrand its growing home appliance business. Edwin J Gallagher (1897–1983) a buyer and traffic manager for the company won the contest and received a check for $1,000. The company did not officially incorporate its name to Sunbeam until 1946.

The company's fortunes began to decline in the 1980's, and it was forced into bankruptcy by a financial scandal perpetrated by its CEO, "Chainsaw Al," in the 1990's. Since 2004, it has been a subsidiary of the Jarden Corporation.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Canada Atlantic Railroad #8, built in 1877 ,was reputedly the only standard gauge Mason Bogie locomotive in Canada. It was later renumbered to 724, finally as Grand Trunk #1312 and scrapped before 1910. I found two other Canadian Mason Bogies belonging to the New Brunswick Railroad and the Rivière-du-Loup railroad, neither of which I can find any info on.

Above, Wesco oilcans in my shop. Traditionally, they were red, but at some point the company changed the colour to blue.

A.E. Westwood Ltd was founded in 1928. By 1937, the company was offering 22 different models of oil can. Today it is part of the SJ Group in Alcester, Warwickshire, roughly 20 miles south of the original location on Mosley Street in Hall Green (which is now an auto mechanics shop). Instead of metal, the oil cans are now made of high density polythene with nylon pumps. It's refreshing to find an old established British tool maker that is still in business.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

An inaugural flight between Croydon and India with this three engine, seven passenger biplane left the United Kingdom on December 27, 1926, and arrived in New Delhi on January 8th 1927. Note the refueling operation and fuel cans in the foreground.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

I've had this peculiar vise for ages, and thought it might be a saw vise designed for sharpening small handsaws. The ad below, reproduced in a history book, enlightened me. I presume that the vise was used to hold adjacent sections of the leather harness in place before sewing them together.

Monday, November 23, 2015

The Murray Stewart was built by Port Arthur Shipbuilding in 1918, operated by the Department of Transport and lent to the Royal Canadian Navy during WW2. After the war she was sold and returned to Thunder Bay. In 1977 she was renamed the Georgian Queen and operated as a cruise ship out of Penetanguishene till 2014 when she was put up for sale.